Page 10 of Blaze

“I hate to break it to you, baby, but the damage will be more than you expect.”

“Do you really think so?” I asked, my stomach in knots.

“Yeah,” he confirmed with a nod. “And I know what I'm talking about because fire is my business.”

I cocked my head to the side and stared at him, confused. “Your business?”

He nodded. “I’m a pyrologist. I work with all types of burns—controlled forest fires, explosives and demolition, and I even worked as an arson investigator.”

I dropped my head into my hands with a groan. “Oh my gosh. Of course I got caught by a freaking arson investigator when I accidentally started a fire while breaking and entering. I've never committed a crime before, not even jaywalking. And now I’m a…a felon.”

“They say go big or go home,” he chuckled. “And you sure as fuck did that.”

Wincing at the thought of how long it would take me to do it, I offered, “I can pay for the damage. Somehow.”

“Don’t worry, I got it covered.”

“That’s nice of you, but?—”

“Wasn’t being nice, baby,” he interrupted. Then he shook his head. “Don’t think anyone would use that word to describe me.”

My brows drew together. “I don’t get it. You just said there’s probably a lot more damage than I expect, and I assumed there was a ton. Why are you so insistent that you’ll take care of it for me?”

“Because I take care of what’s mine.”

My breath caught in my throat at his answer, butterflies swirling in my belly. I didn’t know how to respond, but that didn’t matter because he didn’t give me the chance.

Standing, he wrapped his hand around my wrist and tugged me to my feet. “Not good for you to sit around with all of that soot on you. It’s best to wash it off as soon as possible to limit absorption into your skin. Go take a shower.”

I glanced down at my hands, which were streaked with black gunk that matched my outfit. “At least I was wearing long sleeves.” Lifting a lock of my hair, I sniffed it with a grimace. “But that smoke smell is probably going to linger forever.”

“Use conditioner first. It works surprisingly well at removing soot.” He nudged me toward a closed door to our left.

“Will do.” I swept my hand down the length of my body. “But there’s one problem. I have nothing to wear, and my clothes are pretty much ruined.”

His eyes darkened to the color of slate as his gaze raked over me. “I’ll get you something to put on.”

“Thanks, I really appreciate it, Blaze.”

“Pax.”

I had no idea what that meant. “Pardon?”

“You call me Pax, not Blaze.”

“Oh, okay.” A thought suddenly struck me, and I blushed. “And I’m Courtney Cartwright. No nickname or anything, just Courtney.”

He smirked. “Like I said…so fucking cute.”

The color in my cheeks deepened as I padded over to the bathroom. After I shut the door behind me, I leaned back against the hard surface. “Whoa.”

6

BLAZE

My hands clenched and unclenched as I stared at the closed bathroom door.

The squeak of the faucet as it was turned on, the hiss from the spray of water, the screech of the shower curtain sliding along the bar…every sound made my heart pound harder.

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